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Show Guild Abuse in Arizona and Utah Polygamous Families: An Argument in Favor of Strict and Broad Enforcement of Punishment for Polygamy-related Grimes Against Children Carly Castle Kingston case, where the victim told varying versions of the events. Prosecutors told the Salt Lake Tribune in a June 6, 1999, article that David Kingston's first wife lied on the stand in order to discredit the victim and to protect her husband (Hunt 1999). Prosecutors also said Kingston was charged with three counts of incest and one of unlawful cohabitation, and was found guilty on only two of the four counts. In general, the cases have a lack of physical evidence, and it becomes a battle of he-said, she-said. In these societies, all individuals within the boundaries are closely monitored. According to John Llewellyn, "When a stranger enters town he is followed, the license number is taken and turned over to local police" (2004, 125). Families cannot even leave the communities for a vacation to nearby St. George, Utah, without the permission of Church authorities. Power of Church Leaders and the United Effort Plan Ron Barton stated that "Warren has total control" in the cities of Hildale and Colorado City (2004). If a member refuses to do something that he asks of them, they risk losing everything. The power that Jeffs wields comes from the fact that the Church, in the form of the United Effort Plan, owns all of the land in the two cities. This ownership includes all land on which houses are built, so Jeffs can evict anyone who chooses to not obey his requests (Barton 2004). Barton says that the members of the FLDS Church "all work for a business that is church-owned," and therefore their jobs can be compromised if a member does not comply. The strength of the church leaders is increased by the fact that "there is always the possibility of armed resistance on a grand scale, much like occurred at Waco, Texas" (Llewellyn 2004, 156). The people in Hildale and Colorado City believe in the "Blood Atonement." They draw this doctrine from a speech given by Brigham Young, when he said that "All mankind love themselves, and let these principles be known by an individual, and he would be glad to have his blood shed.... Will you love that man or woman well enough to shed their blood?" (qtd. in Llewellyn 2004, 156). The late prophet Rulon Jeffs quoted the "Blood Atonement" sermon in his book Purity in the New and Everlasting Covenant of Marriage (Llewellyn 2004). A special investigations memo at the Arizona Attorney General's office cited in a Phoenix New Times article reports that "Arizona has a Waco-level problem in Colorado City" (Dougherty, 2002). It states that "The community of 8,000 residents is in the control of a fundamentalist Mormon cult...and is ruled by a prophet whose sexual behavior (at least in the past) and predictions of apocalypse are similar to those of David Koresh of the Branch Davidians" (Dougherty 2002). The investigation's memo also touches on a "massive arsenal that is being built up in the community to defend the town from a long-anticipated battle with law enforcement" (Dougherty 2002). From his investigations of Colorado City and Hildale, John Dougherty of the Phoenix New Times learned of a "God squad," an armed vigilante group of about 50 men who are loyal to Warren Jeffs and who might seek revenge against those who have resisted his authority. When the AG's office went to serve Jeffs with a subpoena for records in the winter of 2003, investigators were confronted with men who told them that they were carrying concealed weapons. Historian Benjamin Bistline remarked that "if they went after him [Jeffs] with a SWAT team, I'm sure there would be a battle with bloodshed" (Dougherty 2003). Incorporation of Towns Colorado City and Hildale are legally incorporated entities, "entitled to all the prestige, privileges, and government grants as other cities of equal size" (Llewellyn 2004, 20). The Church has used these government grants to improve roads, expand their airport, and develop their water supply-Colorado City "received more than $1.8 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to pave its street" (Llewellyn 2004, 20). The roads in Hildale and Colorado City are public, but the land on which the roads, houses, and commercial buildings are built upon is all owned by the UEP. Because the towns of Hildale and Colorado City are incorporated, they receive approximately $8 million in state and federal assistance. John Llewellyn claims that the governments of Colorado City and Hildale are "a priesthood theocracy that uses federal and state monies to fortify its power over FLDS members" (2004, 101). Tom Zoellner of the Salt Lake Tribune conducted an investigation into the financial practices of the FLDS church in Hildale. He reported that "Hildale was awarded $405,006 in federal housing grants to refurbish 19 homes on church-owned land" (Llewellyn 2004, 98). Zoellner also presented an average household and per capita income that "seriously questioned whether residents could feed or clothe their children without taxpayer assistance" (Llewellyn 2004, 99). John Dougherty of the Phoenix News Times conducted an investigation into the financial practices of Colorado City's school districts. He concluded that the Colorado Unified School District, which receives about $4 million in public funds, operates "primarily for the financial benefit of the FLDS Church and for the personal enrichment of FLDS school district leaders" (Llewellyn 2004, 100). After Warren Jeffs commanded that all FLDS children be withdrawn from the public school system, Dougherty found that FLDS school board administrators "still had control of school district funds" (Llewellyn 2004, 100). If the towns of Hildale and Colorado City become disincorporated, there will be no more state and federal monies funding the FLDS Church. Lack of Resources Public officials have stated that they don't have the resources to investigate and prosecute polygamy-related crimes because there are so many of them. The Los Angeles Times reported 38 |
